Kings Cage Continued
by the-pink-quill
Summary: So. Couldn't wait for a whole year for the release of the last book, so figured I'd write up my own sequel. Some Cal bashing (hated the last conversation) and Mare-Evangeline truce. Eventual Cal-Mare.
1. ONE

**_H_** ** _i ppl! So, first fanfic, be_** ** _kind._**

 ** _Also, I write from my phone, so forgive any grammatical errors. The keyboard is TINY. I'll correct them whenever I revise, or you could leave a note in the reviews for an early revision. Lastly, I LOVE REVIEWS!!! They put me in a good mood, which in turn spurs on my writing. So... REVIEW!!! IT'S FREE!_** ** _On with the story!_**

 ** _DISCLAIMER_** : _RED QUEEN_ ** _belongs to Victoria Aveyard, only the plot in this fic belongs to me._**

 ** _This is a one time announcement. I won't put it at the start of every chapter._**

...

 ** _We are going to let them destroy each other._**

I lie in bed in the room I share with Farley and Clara, mulling the same thought over and over. In a way, it makes perfect sense. Of course the Scarlet Guard didnt come this far to simply put a Silver prince back on the throne. I can't even be mad at Davidson. He'd be stupid to sacrifice the cause for a teenage romance - especially when the prince himself chose a piece of headgear and a glorified chair over me. Still...

Three raps on the door break my musing. I sigh. "It's open," I call. The door creaks open, and Kilorn strolls in.

He looks me up and down, probably noting my mussed hair and crumpled shirt, and then says,"Well,I'd say 'told you so', but you seem to manage being perfectly miserable by yourself,".

"Don't," I warn. It physically hurts to think about Cal - I take in a sharp breath. The wound's still raw, the scars still fresh from that day. I probably wince, considering the way Kilorn flinches. He recovers quickly though, coming to plop down beside me. We sit in comfortable silence, until he speaks. ''My words from that day still stand you know,". He flinches when I send him an incredulous look.

"I'm not pressuring you or- or anything," he hurries to explain. "You've known how I feel for a while now. A-and now that ..." he blushes and scrambles for something to say. I meanwhile, am silent, my mind going a dozen directions at the same time. Kilorn? Yes, he's the one I was supposed to be with in the first place, but now... I stop. But now... what, exactly? Cal's (I wince) off chasing twisted-metal flames, a fancy hat he'd going to marry Evangeline for. He dumped me for that,went back on his word for that. But Kilorn... he's always stuck by my side, even after I rejected him. Never let me down, even once.

I take a deep breath. "Sure," I say. Kilorn stops stuttering. "What?" he asks. I sigh - I seem to be doing that a lot lately. "Sure Kilorn," I start, "I'll date you.Who knows where it might lead us?" And it's actually worth seeing the smile spread across his face.

 _Anyone can betray anyone_ , but somehow I really doubt Kilorn will ever betray me. And maybe... maybe... maybe, that's enough.


	2. TWO

**EVANGELINE**

Yet another meeting with the glorious Scarlet Guard. Tolly looks on while I train, his eyes sympathetic.

Normally trivial things like Red meetings won't bother me, but we all know how _this_ meeting is going to pan out: Silvers and Reds-Newbloods facing off, Annabel and father parading me and Tiberias around, said prince staring at the lightning girl, Mare Barrow. And Barrow... I take another swipe at the machine. I have no clue how she's going to act. The girl kept us all on our toes with her escape attempts back at Whitefire Palace, yet when the so-called love of her life was being married off, she didn't even flinch. Granted, she was ice-cold when she returned, but while I was on the brink, thinking about Elane, she didn't so much as bat an eye the whole time the marriage contract was being drafted. In that moment, I could really have believed her to be Mareena Titanos, Silver princess, rather than Mare Barrow, Red vermin.

...

We arrive before schedule - just the way I prefer - and apparently, the General from last time had the same idea. However, it's Tolly, not me, that she seems to be glaring at.

Tolly finally decides he's had enough. The two soldiers flanking the General's sides are apparently Mare Barrow's brothers - her remaining _living_ brothers. Though the General remains collected, if stiff, when he starts boasting about a _certain_ newblood he'd _"skewered like a roast pig"_ the Barrows stomp forward, rage clear on their faces.

I smirk . This is going to be fun, watching my brother put these pests back in their places.

Or it would have been, if Tolly didn't just then drop to the ground , clutching his head and screaming in agony.

...

 **MARE**

Two weeks after we came back from Corvium, Ella had taken me to task. "You are not showing up for training," she'd said, completely, _deceptively_ calm. "Is losing your boyfriend to some Silver worth dying for? Because that's what is going to happen if you keep slipping and missing training,". Then she'd dragged me out of the room, past a curious, wide-eyed Clara (who ,along with her mom,are camping out in my room during the day while my brothers - cheap manual labour workers- finish cleaning out their room...mom decided it best for Farley and her daughter to move in for now) to Storm Hill.

And I have to admit, blasting stuff via lightning bolts _really_ clears your head. Afterwards, I found out that Tytos, courtesy of Ella, was going to teach me _Brain lightning. "Extremely important for you to learn it, dear," she'd quipped. "Considering we all know_ who _it is that Maven's after... " ._ It wasn't easy, and Tytos was as much a slavedriver as Ella, but...

I'm truly grateful for them now. I walked into the Council Room to find Ptolemus threatening _another_ one of my brothers. I see red, and unleash my recently gained powers.

I don't kill him, of course. He's still the Prince of the Rift, but...

Well. I can't be expected to just sit back and watch him take away _another_ family member now, can I?

I lean on the door frame, like Shade used to, and release a bit of brain lightning, not enough to kill, but definitely enough to temporarily incapacitate him. I watch in satisfaction as my brother's killer crumbles to the floor.

Evangeline turns to glare at me. I shrug. "I promised not to _kill_ him, that's all," I say, even as she shoots daggers at me with her eyes. A crowd- both Red and Silver- has gathered behind me, but I couldn't care less. Ptolemus screams in agony, and I relish in it. So does the rest of my family, by the looks of it.

Eventually, however, I have to let go. I stroll over to my brothers, but I've just barely reached them when the Viper Queen shrieks, "How dare you! Red rats! You dare assault royalty! Evangeline should have killed you in -"

"She tried," I reply. I turn to look at the fuming princess. "But I think by the end, she was a little busy saving her own hide,"

...

 **EVANGELINE**

How dare she! I should -

My thoughts are cut off as she continues... I don't like the way she's staring at Tolly.

"My apologies, _prince,"_ she sneers, "But you might want to be a bit more careful. It would be a real shame... though also rather...amusing- " her brothers and several Reds and newbloods smirk; the general stands up a bit straighter, " If a God were to die at the hand of a _red rat,_ "

Mother is livid, but I flinch. Quite frankly, it was a valid concern if she could attack like that. We'd not even realized it was her until she revealed herself.

Then, something else catches my eye.

I, along with several other people, including a certain lovesick Calore prince,I'm sure, watch as a boy - Red, not newblood - slips his palm into hers... the calming effect is shockingly immediate. Mare looks down from Tolly to their entwined hands, glances up at his face, and her shoulders sag, her body leaning back. I look over to Tiberias, finding several more gazes turn that way too.

I'm not disappointed.

His jaw is tight, fists clenched, eyes trained infront - where Mare stands. I don't see if she flinches under his gaze,or even looks his way.

Annabel clears her throat then, probably to shift the focus from her grandson, and the meeting begins.

...

 ** _Well, finally! Sorry if I was late, the wi-fi has been crap the last few days. And you can't write on the ff. net app without internet. Yes, not even type._**

 ** _Anyway, review, criticize (hopefully not much) and tell me how you'd like this story to go. Until next time!_**


	3. THREE

**MARE**

Cal seems surprised. Scratch that, he seems shell-shocked. I suppress the urge to slap him. I'd been downright stupid ,thinking he was any different than Maven, that he didn't share the mentality that he _owned_ me.

 _MINE._

The word resonates in my ear, Maven's phantom voice sending goosebumps rippling down my skin. I shudder. Kilorn probably thinks it's because of Cal , judging by how his grip tightens. I wonder what his reaction would be if he knew _which_ Calore I'm thinking about...

The Silver who had actually been part of the Scarlet Guard,if only to spy. The King who'd held me in Silent Stone manacles, leaching my power like his throne most likely leached his.

The younger son, living in the shadow of his brother. The broken boy who preferred my company simply because my murderous intentions he was aware of, unlike the same of others.

The Prince who'd looked tortured when he realized it was his brother I, too, preferred. My, albeit reluctant, fiancé, whom I actually (no matter what I told everyone) did love a bit. Maybe more than a bit.

A lie.

I sigh.

And _yet_ , _despite_ knowing that, _despite_ knowing the Maven I knew doesn't exist - Never did, I can't deny my feelings towards the shadow prince. Especially now- now that I know it wasn't all pretend. That boy ,that boy _does_ exist; he exists in the bits of the _real_ Maven Elara hadn't poisoned, the Maven only _I_ seem to have seen. He's the boy Cal fantasizes about saving.

The boy who, along with the despotic prince he shares a mind with, is fated to die at my hands.

" What? " Cal asks, and I snap out of my daze. For a moment I think he heard my thoughts. But then Farley repeats her question, the question I asked her to pose:

"I said, do you know of any ways to bypass the clicker?"

Cal (again) seems shocked, and goes, "Why would I -"

He stops when Farley throws a glance my way. "Well, you invented the damn thing right? Mare said so," .

Damnit Farley! Cal looks my way, yet _again_ looking shocked- _hell_ , looking like someone sucker punched him. I hold his gaze though, until he looks away.

"It doesn't have any weaknesses that I know of," he finally mutters, looking apologetic as Farley curses. "However, I'll try my best to think of any-"

" _If_ any," Farley growls. "You don't do things halfway, to my knowledge,"

Yikes. Apparently she still holds a grudge from the Sun Firing. Cal hangs his head. Annabel seems like she's barely resisting being downright livid. The Rift Royalty seem like _they're_ barely resisting being downright gleeful.

Ugh. _Politics._

They keep discussing stuff I'll probably be a part of, and that's as far as my interests go anyway. I only snap to attention on hearing a familiar name.

"No."

The assembly looks my way. It should be unnerving. The tempting idea of pissing off House Samos, however, wards off the nervousness.

"You have something to add , _little lightning girl?_ " Queen Laurentia asks. I ignore the jibe. I could roast her and her wild entourage in a jiffy. Animals aren't the best protection against lightning, to my knowledge. Excellent conductors, though.

I turn my back on her, facing Farley and Davidson. "Cameron won't fight on the battleground-" _won't_ not _can't,_ " She isn't comfortable with killing,"

...

 **EVANGELINE**

"So?" Mother sneers. "She's just a weapon , who cares if-" her boa suddenly spills into her lap from it's place on her shoulders, slamming heavily to the ground as she jumps up (quite ungracefully I might add). The serpent is dead, it's corpse glistening in the light. It looks eerier now than it had as part of my Mother's wardrobe.

I stare at Mare. So do quite a few other people, including Mother. And she is livid, in contrast to Mare's calm and collected demeanor.

Before she can utter a word though, Mare speaks.

"Why so upset?" she asks blankly. "It was just a weapon, after all," .

...

 ** _Hiya folks! I_** ** _know_** , **_short_** ** _chapter_** , **_but I_** ** _couldn't_** ** _resist_** ** _the_** ** _cue_** ** _for_ _a_** ** _cliffhanger_**. **_I'm_ _annoying_** ** _that_ _way_**.

 ** _Next time, for the first time ever on this fanfic, I'll attempt a Camerone pov._**

 ** _Until then, Ciao!_**


	4. FOUR

**CAMERON**

When Mare Barrow had said I won't have to kill, I'd trusted her.

When both the Guard and the Rift Royalty talked about me like I'm not there, like I'm just an object, nothing but a useful _weapon_ , I'd kicked myself for trusting her.

But I guess Mare Barrow isn't all talk.

Still, despite knowing she's doing it for me, it's unnerving to watch, along with every other person in the room, Red and Silver, as the snake piles into the Rift Queen's lap, before falling to the floor, head followed by tail hittihitting the marble with a double _thud._

Reds and Silvers watch, their expressions varying from smugness to pure ecstasy to downright fear,depending on the colour they bleed. Fear seems to be the dominant feeling though. Typical.

Not for the Viper though.

She stares, shocked, at her dead pet... and then her head jerks up, eyes glowering at an unruffled Mare.

"You!" she snarls. "You filthy slave, red rat, you dare -"

Man, these bleeding Silvers _need_ to learn some new curses. The old set doesn't even make _me_ mad anymore. Just sad at their limited vocabulary.

"Shut. Up." Mare drawls, then continues before the bitch can bite back. "Cameron Cole is not a sworn member of the Guard. She has admitted to having reservations about killing-"

"I," the Rift Prince interrupts, apparently having learnt absolutely nothing from his recent dealings with Mare, "Seem to remember moments where she fought, and yes, _killed_ several Silvers without remorse,"

"And I remember a brother you'd killed, a favor I'm yet to return, " the smug smile wipes off Ptomel- Moptemel- uggh, _why_ can't these bleeding Silvers choose simpler names for their children? "Should I gut you now then? I _certainly_ won't mind... "

Score. The Viper Queen looks vicious, and I'm sure I'm not imagining the sudden hike in the volume of the birds' screeching, but animals against lightning? Mare will just end up frying another Queen, without any remorse whatsoever.

And the bleeding bitch knows it.

"...Fair, " Farley is speaking, and I tune back in. "We're vouching for a change, and forcing somebody to fight against their will-" she shoots Calore a dirty look, "Is not the way to go about it, "

Satisfied, Mare returns to her place by the wall. On the way she catches my eye, gives me a reassuring smile, then winks as she steps onto the dead snake -twisting her foot for good measure - even though there was enough space to step around it. I'm surprised the bitch isn't snarling, though she's still glaring daggers at Mare.

Mare settles back in her place, leaning against the wall, and Kilorn threads his fingers with hers.

I turn - I'm not the only one, what a surprise - and yep, Calore's staring at their hands, then at Mare, a tortured look on his face, as if it was his heart and not the snake she'd stepped on. Which is ridiculous, considering all sources point out he's the one responsible for their sensational break.

He made his choice; he picked a metal hat over Mare. Now if he only lets the consolation prize be, I'd be able to stop the urge to strangle him.

It's another half hour before the meeting is over, and then we all shuffle out the door. Mare and Kilorn, hand in hand, break away from the throngs, heading down a side corridor.

Calore follows them.

I sense someone else watching the same thing, and I whip my head around to find Farley glaring at the scene. We share a look, and hurry down the corridor.


	5. FIVE

**_Guest_** _ **: Why have ur classes just begun mine just ended .** Probably cuz I hail from the other side of the world. You're American , I'm guessing. I'm from India, and here, classes for 11th 12th grade students start from the middle of the year. _

**_Moving on,_** ** _I decided to do a Farley pov here._** _Steel Scars **was from her pov, so I figured it couldn't hurt to try.**_

...

 **FARLEY**

Cameron and I hurry down the corridor.

Once, I used to think Cam was _good enough_ for Mare. Okay, that mentality came from Shade, but really, the boy had gone crazy when Mare was taken captive. I thought that meant he loved her.

Of course, it was probably complete idiocy on my part to think whatever feelings he might have for Mare would actually trump his lust for power, godforsaken Silver that he is.

 _The apple doesn't fall far from the tree._

How bloody fitting. There is no 'probably' about it. It _was_ completely psychotic of me to think he was any different from that tyrannic father of his. And Maven is his brother, after all.

"Why can't he just let the _consolation prize_ be?" Cameron hisses. My eyebrows shoot up. Apparently I'm not the only one feeling hostile towards Cal.

"He's Silver," I reply. "He's used to getting every bloody thing he wants."

"I wish he'd just die. Would save us all a load of trouble, the whole bleeding royal family gone. Besides," she sneers, "What is he expecting? Mare to be his bleeding _concubine_?" I wince.

"We'll have another royal family to deal with, a much more irritating one,"

She scoffs. "You saw them today right? Mare can toast them in a jiffy." She grins sardonically. "And I can suffocate them _very_ slowly ttill they're begging for death. Besides, what is up with you? Aren't you supposed to be the one thirsty for revenge? That _Prince_ is the one who killed your, uh.."

I don't get to reply, cuz that's when we catch sight of Mare... glaring at Cal, arms crossed, a pissed off look on her face.

 **MARE**

This is Whitefire Palace all over again. Only this time, one of us had a choice, and he clearly made his.

"Is there something you need, Cal?" I ask in my best Mareena voice - cold, distant, detached.

Kilorn's grip on my shoulder tightens. All the camaraderie he and Cal may have had among them went out the window a long time ago. Kilorn has gone back to loathing and largely distrusting Cal, probably more so than before.

His eyes lock onto mine, and I have to physically swallow down the feelings that have knotted into a lump in my throat. It's one thing to pretend to not care about him, another matter entirely to turn the ruse into reality.

"Can I talk to you in private for a moment ?" he asks me.

"No you may not," Cameron's voice hisses. I look to the side to see her stalking over to us, Farley in tow.

"She can make her own decisions," Cal fires back.

"And I decide I have nothing I would like to say to you," I snap, annoyed at being treated like an object than a living, breathing human being. "Besides, the last time we talked in private is still firmly etched into my mind. That conversation did not end well,and I doubt this one will either," . I attempt to stalk past him after that little speech, but Cal grabs my wrist.

 _SHIT._

Fact is, even after all this time, I still havent completely gotten over the trauma ocaused by prolonged exposure to Silent Stone. I still am not at all fond of- more like I am petrified of - anything, and I mean _anything_ , that wounds around my wrists.

My breathing becomes shallow. _It's fine. You're safe._ I repeat this mantra in my head, but it doesn't have the pacifying effect it's supposed to have. Kilorn grips my shoulder even harder, and I think he calls my name, as do Cameron and Farley. But it's not enough to keep me grounded. I start slipping, and I'm back in Whitefire Palace, imprisoned in a lavish prison, the manacles and walls and Arven guards slowly suffocating me, leaching my power, until I can't even feel the hum of electricity in a brightly lit, camera dotted room...

 _It's fine. You're safe._

...can't feel my own power...

 _No one can hurt you here. You're safe. You'll be alright. It's all good._

...can't use my powers ever again...

 _You're safe. You're safe. You're safe._ _Safe._

A scream pulls me out of my shock, and I watch as Cal drops to the floor, holding his head.

"Stop, please," he chokes out.

Cameron.

I look over to her, and sure enough, she's staring intently at Cal. She holds my gaze, letting Cal go. "You alright ?" she asks.

"Yeah..." I trail off, looking at Cal, still sprawled on the floor, gasping. "You shouldn't have done that, to him," I clarify. Don't ask why. I don't have all my wits about me yet, I don't think. These panic attacks always leave me drained. Except when I'm on the battlefield. There, the threat of death and pumping adrenaline have a way of cloaking them.

"Had to be someone. You'd rather you'd been the one I suppressed?"

I wince. "No, please... no,"

"That's what I thought."

"Let's go somewhere else," Kilorn pipes up. His hand is back on my shoulder, or maybe it had been there the whole time. I don't know really.

I cover his hand with mine, and for the first time notice the charred seams of my sleeves. I'd tapped into the electricity when I'd started panicking. I try to ignore this, like everybody else seems bent on doing.

Kilorn pushes me out of the niche into the main corridor (giving a wide berth to the prince on the floor) , and tentatively, we make our way to our accommodations.


	6. SIX

**MARE**

"What were you thinking?" Farley snaps.

"I was thinking my brother's killer deserved to be punished," I reply, defiant as ever.

Farley recoils. "Mare," she sighs, "Do you think I don't get exactly the same urge ... do you really think I won't have ultimate satisfaction to watch the life drain out of that... that _brat?_ "

"Then why-"

She cuts me off.

"Because we have to play smart," she says. "Brain lightning had been a strong trump against the silvers - both sides. And now we've lost it,just cuz you couldn't keep your anger in check,"

"But he was insulting Shade! " I shout. "How can you just let that go?"

"Trust me, I haven't," she replies, lips pressed into a grim line. She looks... can't believe I'm saying this, but she looks savage.

Good.

"Just...just don't act rashly, ok? When the time comes - " here her voice grows minatory, " - he _will_ die at _our_ hands."

I gape open mouthed like a goldfish as she struts out of the room.

...

He finally corners me in the library.

Not that I've aquired a love for books all of a sudden. I am simply walking along, looking at the portraits of Kings and Queens and their House flags. _You may as well sneak a glimpse of them, if only to scoff at their splendour,_ Julian's voice says to me, a ghost of our last conversation, when he'd caught me at my door, scaring the hell out of my mom and Gina. _I assume they're going to remove them soon enough._ I had had no intention of abiding, but he'd insisted. Not wanting to argue over a seemingly simple walk, I'd given in . And since he has a (sort of) creepy way to detect lies, here I am, standing in front of King Tiberius the Sixth, making good on my promise.

"I did not expect to find you here," his voice starls me. Not turning around, I say nothing, pretending, childishly I know, but still pretending that he'll go away if I ignore him.

"I'm not leaving till you say something," .

"Are you a whisper too now? " I say, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I don't need to be one to know what you are thinking,".

I finally turn around, and his appearence shocks me. He looks the same, at least outwardly; I've known him long enough to see he's tired, _exhausted._ An effect of being in the middle of - what else? - politics.

Well. He chose it himself. Chose it over -

I swallow my resentment and say, "What are you doing here?"

He looks mildly amused. "Can't a person visit their own library?"

"Sure," I say. You want to play, Cal? Let's play. "But this is not your castle, Your Highness... oh wait, you aren't king yet, " And never will be, if the Guard gets its way. "This is a stronghold of the Scarlet Guard and Piedmont. Not of Silver Royalty, and anyways, if memory serves," I sneer, " Your people arrived at the end point of the battle. It was us that took care of the brunt of the attack."

He flinches. _Good._

"I was there too," he defends. I'm ready for that. "As part of the Guard," I remind him. "Not... this... " I gesture to his lavish clothing, silver embroidered onyx-and-ruby silk coat and medals I doubt he deserved; not after sending thousands of Reds to their deaths to win a Silver war no Red or newblood cares about.

I turn back to the portrait of the late King. Cal's father.

My captor. My torturer. Murderer of who knows how many innocents. Then again, most of them were Reds, and who cares if a few (gazillion) insects die?

"He was a great man," Cal says. "A great man," he repeats, as if that'd make it any less of a lie.

"Really," I say. Its a statement, and you'd have to be seriously dumb to not notice the dripping sarcasm.

Which means Cal's seriously dumb. _Take that,_ I tell my heart, but it doesn't seem to care, wanting to get closer to him, hold him, kiss him, touch him...

"Yes," Cal says, a smile in his voice. I once again face the gilded frame, suddenly having an epiphany, realizing... realizing I was trying to find some way out, some way to not have to tell Cal what I _really_ thought of his father.

It's not the first time, I realize. I always hid my true feelings from him, mostly because we had very different views, _blood-affliated_ views on a lot of stuff.

But why? If he's going to be King someday - not that the Scarlet Guard will let him, but it's as good an excuse as any - he needs to be able to withstand reality. He's no child.

And anyway, I think bitterly, Red children don't really get _childhoods._ The picture of a Red baby, dead in a basket, is still fresh, still vivid, still equally horrifying in my mind. And what had been it's fault? Just that he shared residence with a newblood.

"Who knows," I say. " The few times I met him, I was a bit busy trying not to get myself or my family or the Guard or any other innocent Reds killed - not that I was particularly successful, even though it wasn't even their fault...just a _great man_ unwilling to admit his son got a bunch of - " _holier-than-thou, I add silently,_ "- Silvers killed during a meaningless festival,".

I stalk out of the room before he can reply, leaving the never-will-be King of Norta standing there.

 _Rise, red as the dawn._

I'll make sure it comes true, even if it's the last thing I do.

Which, frankly, it may very well be.

...

 ** _Finally! I actually had this all typed up, but as I mentioned before, I use the app. And cuz my wi-fi had to go sluggish exactly then, it didn't upload, and I had to once again type up the whole thing, all the while resisting the urge to smash the godforsaken router against a_** ** _wall._**

 ** _Anyway,_** ** _the usual drill... review review review! It's free! Just click on the little button down there and type a nice word or two! Until next time!_**


	7. SEVEN

**MARE**

"And that's it? " Farley asks while trying to burp the baby half-dozing on her shoulder. "You walked away? He didn't do anything?"

"Well, frankly speaking," I say, "I think the last time he tried _doing anything_ has made him wary. " Farley hands Clara over to me, reaching for the empty feeding bottle. She tosses it onto the pile of new baby clothes the large blue basket choked full of. I look away. Back at the Stilts, the whole community shared the same set of gender neutral clothes whenever a baby was born, passed down from sister to friend to aunt to daughter until they were so tattered it was impossible to use them. Shade's kid getting a brand new, extremely ... _Silver-like_ wadrobe all for herself...

Maybe I am overreacting, but it felt wrong.

"I know."

I snap my head up, wondering if I'd said all that out loud. Farley looks at me, and continues. "I know all this-" she gestures around the room, littered with baby products I didn't know existed and clothes that had spilled out of the hamper, "-is not your average Red lifestyle, heck-" she laughs shakily, "-Shade would probably have had a seizure seeing all these clothes. But you know, " she sobered up, "We are fighting for this right? 'Equality for all' and all that? Yeah, I know you don't believe that can happen, " I promptly shut my mouth, as I was about to say exactly that, "But _I_ want to believe it can." Her eyes soften. "Claire is what I am fighting for the most. A better future for Reds. A better future for _her_. "

Farley's words follow me out the door.

I don't really buy into this whole democracy - Red and Silver living side by side, _choosing their leader independently_ \- thing Farley is dreaming of, but that's not my headache. I only know this: I've lost Shade. No way in hell am I losing Claire too. I'll protect her with my life, and if that's the last thing I do, so be it.

...

"...And that's where Maven's forces will be easiest to corner."

I jab Kilorn in the ribs; the painful pleasantries between the Rift Royalty and Davidson had caused him to doze off, _standing_. Now that the real talk is finally starting, he'd better listen.

Farley turns to the screen, where the picture of a beach side castle is being projected. "The King and Queen are planning to spend their honeymoon here, if for nothing else than to show how little they're bothered by the attacks. "

My mind wanders. _King and Queen._ Maven, and... Iris. Last I saw her, it was her wedding day. We'd gotten along fine - freakishly so - though the same can't be said for House Samos. She'd liberally and quite _politely_ , gotten on their nerves. That had kinda been what made me like her.

After her father got killed in the ensuing chaos though...

An idea formulates in my mind, a crazy, probably psychotic idea I need to run through Julian.

If only this meeting finishes, now.

...

An hour and a half later, I've already spoken to Farley, who's dubbed my plan "crazy enough to work", and Julian, who warns me to "not trust anyone, because they're all still viewing you as a threat, and will love to kill you,"

What else is new?

...

 _ **Hi ya'll! Sorry if I convinced you I've abandoned this fic. I'm gonna keep updating - however sparingly - right up till the day** War Storm **comes out.**_

 ** _I know I've been absent for aaaages, but I caught the Riordan fever_** _ **and have spent the last multiple weeks catching up. I finished** Trials Of Apollo : The Dark Phrophecy **yesterday, and am taking a break before starting on**_ _Magnus Chase and The Ship Of The Dead_

 ** _Short chapter I know, but I wanted to do the upcoming battle in a different chapter. Fret not, I'll update soon... ish. Ciao!_**


	8. EIGHT

**MARE**

The plane touches down at a secret landing space near the Vacation Home of the Nortan royalty. At first I think we are landing on water, which causes me to slightly panic at the thought of mistakenly electrocuting somebody - which might very well lead me to shock everybody.

Then the water parts.

I'm serious. A long rectangle of white waves froths into existance in the middle of the ocean, the churning water slowly sinking to create a depression in the middle of the sea. It should be spectacular, but the claustrophobic hole reminds me of my brother's grave, back on that deserted island.

I look away from the window, catching a glimpse of Farley in her red Command jumpsuit **_(A.N.: It was a jumpsuit, right?)_**. From the grim set of her jaw and the thin line her lips were pressing into, I conclude she too is having similar morbid thoughts.

Kilorn pinches my bicep. "Check this out!" he cracks up. I look out his window to where he's pointing. A long black fish of some kind stares back at me from _inside_ the walls of the hole. It's like the grande aquariums back at the palace. But that doesn't depress me like usual, because my... _boyfriend_ (?) is still howling with laughter. The rest of the Guard inside the plane are giving him amused looks.

Keeping with tradition, I quip, "Cousin of yours? I sure see the family resemblance." Somebody snorts. A few others chucke. "Look, she's waving at you! Yikes! Do I have competition now?"

"Shut up, Barrow," he mumbles. "I've heard there are electric eels round here.Maybe we'll bump into some of your relatives today instead," he snipes back.

The chuckling erupts into full-on laughter.

Farley cracks a smile as the doors open. Well, at least we're all marching to possible doom with a smile on our faces.

...

Half an hour later, the battle is in full swing. I toast a couple Arvens, toast some Sentinels ganging up on a Shield, fry all the guards near the armoured doors as I rush into the marble corridors. The floor-to-ceiling windows are diamondglass. I hear a chorus of "Rise, Red as the Dawn!" behind me, but I don't stop as I sprint ahead. I have a task to do, something I havr to do alone. No Red or Newblood or Nortan Silver is going to help me. Mess up my plan? Definitely.

I was on a roll, so of course an Arven, fully ready to subdue the Lightning Girl, jumps out of a corner. I'm terrified for a moment- wrong move, since that curbs my capacity to use brain lightning. I feel it, feel the power draining out the me, and I'm powerless to stop it. My knees buckle even as I'm reaching for the holster...

Then it's gone. I don't know how or why, but I don't wait to find out. I yank the pistol out of the holster and point it at the Sentinel - just as he crumbles to the floor. I shoot him anyway. Better be safe than sorry.

" Keep moving, Mare, " Cameron says.

I whip around to face her. " What the hell are you doing here? "

She shrugs. " You've been a bleeding mess lately. Figured you were upto something. I decided tagging along was better than letting you get captured, "

I look at the corpse on the floor. " You going to be okay with... " I gesture at the Arven.

Cameron swallows. "Just this once," she manages. Normally, having Cameron along would be excellent, but considering what I'm about to do, having somebody who hates the sight of Silvers so much might prove disastrous for my plan.

She looks at me. And sighs. "I know you're not planning anything sane," she says. I wonder when I became so transparent. She raises her hands. " I won't kill anyone unless they try to kill us first, " she promises.

Probably shouldn't believe her, but I don't exactly have time to convince her to scatter. Instead I ran ahead. If she wanted to flee, she could.

Too bad she didn't.

" You planning to kill the bleeding King? " Cameron asks. I shake my head. " You sure you want to tag along? " I ask. She rolls her eyes. "Yes." I sigh. No way out of it. "All right. But promise not to do anything rash."

"I'll try."

We enter the corridor lined with royal suites. I have no doubt Maven has already fled. I can't help but hope that he escapes alive... somehow, the thought of him dying at anybody's hands but mine makes me feel cheated.

One of the suites seems to have been hastily vacated; the charred linen and blackened furniture tells me Maven had thrown quite the fit when he was informed about the uninvited guests.

"Mare? " Cameron calls. I shake my head. _Focus._

If this is the King's suite, then...

I push open the doors of the opposite room. Nothing. It is empty. I walk back and try the room adjacent to Maven's.

There's a figure lying on the bed. Seriously? How can Iris just sleep through all this commotion? And Maven... he just ran and left his _wife_ to her fate...

All these Calores are the same.

Uggh. Now's not the time to get emotional.

I walk in - Cameron hesitates outside the room- and I'm just about to shake her up, when the wall blasts.

...

 **Hi ppl! Yeah, I know I probably convinced everyone I was done with this fic, but my exams just ended (horrible week...).**

 **Moving on: May? Seriously?? They just release the killer cover (literally; that diadem could do some _serious_ damage) and are like, "Okay, you got the look, now wait another half year for the actual text. " Uuggh!**

 **Aaaand... same old YouTube plea. Like, Follow, Comment (no subscribe here, unless you wanna follow the author, a.k.a. me). Till the next time I figure out what to type!**


	9. NINE

**MARE**

 _It's not_ _just a wall,_ I realize, a second too late.

The aquarium, which spans the entirety of the side of the room, spews forth a hostile jet of water, about as thick, if not thicker than the pillars outside. I jump back, out of immediate reach, then quickly scan the area for Cameron. She's backed away, eyeing the water warily; searching for the one controling it.

"Iris? " I call, and I can see Cameron's gaze at me, her face making it clear just how much of a nutter she thinks I am. Can't say I blame her - this idea is seeming more and more stupid as time passes.

"Lightning Girl."

I swivel around to face her. She's balanced on a thick and sturdy-looking block of wood, the piece itself floating on an airborne black mass of water, her face a stone mask. I realize two things at the same time:

 _She can't see Cameron._

 _She might or might not believe that I had prior knowledge of the attack that killed her father._

Abandoning my plan to take her unharmed, I shoot a bolt of purple at the watery blob.

Nothing happens. _Is that why the water is black?_ I wonder, a tad desperate. _Because they've done something to make it immune to such attacks ?_ It wouldn't really be surprising; not after diamondglass walls and Silent Stone.

It would, however, prove as much of a menace.

Iris doesn't say anything, just swipes her hand in an arc. The water from the shattered aquarium turns into a swirling tornado, gurgling deeply, like a writhing beast. I can't think of anything. Shooting her or brain lightning would undermine the whole plan, and if I'm being honest, I don't actually want to hurt her either. Also, I can't electrocute the very much plain-looking - and therefore not lightningproof - water without flooding the room, killing not only Iris, but Cameron in one strike.

I feel ridiculous as I device my next step.

"Iris, " I say. The feeling of stupidity is suffocating right now. "I didn't kill your father."

She doesn't talk.

I hold my breath.

Almost lethargicly, she pushes the water back out.

"If anyone else had said that," she says, "I'd have let the sea swallow them alive."

I resist the urge to swallow as I realize that the aquarium is, in fact, just a partition seperating the room from the sea... we're underwater. It would've been more than just Cameron and I that she'd have killed... that she still can kill.

"Iris-"

"Why don't you call your friend in? "

 _Cameron. How did she...?_

Cameron walks in by herself. She seems to be regretting her decision to tag along.

"Why should I trust you, Mare Barrow? " Iris asks. "I know you want me to join your cause . But why should I? Your men killed my father. What can you say to this? " Her face is the neutral mask all Silvers are taught to possess, but I can sense the anguish beneath. How not? I've lost a brother, have seen my father aand sister crippled, have grieved - twice - for the same brother.

So has Cameron. Suddenly I'm glad I agreed to let her come. She understands that, if nothing else.

Though the comfort I'd had in her powers is gone. If I fail to convince Iris, the area will drown either way. If she wills it to, or if we supress her _and_ her powers- the only thing between the people in the area and the sea.

No pressure.

"I didn't kill your father, Iris." I wait to see if she will contest that. When she doesn't, I continue. "Yes, I'm glad the attack happened. I'm glad to be out of that hellhole. But I knew nothing of it. And I had nothing against your father. But-"

 _Please let this work._

I take a deep breath. "I cannot bring your father back. Orrec Cygnet is dead. Like my brother." _Shade._

"And yet," she interrupts, curling her lip, "You support his killers."

"I don't! " That is one insult I cannot take. "I do _not_ support House Samos. Or House Calore. I support no cause beside that of the Scarlet Guard." I step closer to her, drawing on all of my Etiquette training, trying to push down the wish for silks and gems. This is who I am, and I'll deal with Iris this way.

 _Anyway, the Scarlet Guard will be worse._

"You bear no love for Maven. No one does. His cause is doomed. You want revenge for your father? It's Salin Iral you want. I want Ptolemy Samos. It's your choice. You can die here, knowing you killed many but not the ones you really want, or come along. And when the time is right, we can take what is ours. What rightfully belongs to us."

She gives me a lopesided smirk. "And what is, _ours_ , Mareena Titanos? "

I ignore the barb.

"Vengeance."

She smiles.

It is not a friendly smile, or a taunting one. It is malicious, promising the destruction of her enemies. I can only hope they are the same as mine.

She looks towards the swirling waters, out of the missing wall, in the sea.

"All that you have told me, If I reported to Lord Volo? " She refuses to call him King.

I match her wicked smirk.

"They're fools if they don't already know. "

"A fool on the throne is a dangerous thing. "

"That's what we hope to remedy." _Preferably by killing him alonside his heir._

She's still looking at the water.

"Go."

I look at her. _Is she not coming after all?_

"I'll catch up." She's still staring at the sea. "Go."

I don't want to. But fact is, I don't have a choice.

"Come on Cameron."

As soon as we're out of the room and running again - the floor is deserted, no soldiers from either side in sight - Cameron lets me know what I already knew she'd been thinking.

"You're bleeding crazy. Even by your standards."

Well that's flattering.

I sigh. I'd been expecting this,and I can't even retaliate. In her position, I'd have thought the exact same thing. I still do.

"I know."


End file.
